Prospect of a €250 cut to student contribution fees unlikely ahead of Budget 2027

There have been moves to pour cold water on the prospect of a €250 cut to the student contribution being considered for Budget 2027.On Sunday there were reports that the measure was set to be discussed in Budget talks with a last ditch bid by Minister for Higher Education James Lawless to secure the cut.There was a suggestion that the cost of the €250 cut to the student fee was put at under €30 million, and an expectation among some sources that it could be considered by senior Coalition figures. A spokesman for Lawless declined to comment on the matter.READ MORELater in the day, some Government sources cast doubt on whether such a proposal was being proposed or considered for the Budget. One source suggested the matter should be “treated with caution”. The programme for government commits to continuing to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government.A €500 cut in the student contribution was announced in last year’s budget.One Department of Higher Education measure that has been agreed is a €16 million support package for students aimed at helping squeezed middle families through extending grant eligibility for households with more than one child in third level education.There is also a plan to use €150 million from the National Training Fund to be invested in AI skilling and reskilling.The Departments of Children and of Social Protection are among those yet to see their budget packages finalised.[ Budget 2027: Measures on pensions, welfare, income tax and more take shapeOpens in new window ]At a Fianna Fáil event on Saturday night, Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked if promised childcare cost cuts would be targeted at any particular age group. He said: “There’s no question that the significant costs arise in the early years, in the zero to five years, and I think that’s something that the minister and public expenditure, people are looking at. But that all remains to be discussed.”In terms of social protection measures, a €10-per-week increase in the State pension and core welfare payments are expected to be announced as part of the budget on Tuesday.* This article was updated and amended on October 4th.